27.11.07

The artwork of Peter Saville

New Order, 'True Faith'. Design: Peter Saville.

Peter Saville's discussion of Bauhaus architecture and design on The Culture Show on Saturday is still on my mind (see 'Design for Life'). I've spent the last few days reading about the Bauhaus movement, while reacquainting myself with some of Saville's classic designs.

Although I'm convinced that his sleeve cover for Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures is his greatest work, over the last four decades he's created dozens of classic, memorable designs. Take the 12" single artwork for New Order's True Faith, for example: a single golden leaf suspended in an artificial, but emotive, blue background. Created 'during a melancholy moment' at the difficult end of a relationship, the image strikes an interesting balance between the real and the artificial. The artwork for New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies explores similar territory: a display of flowers revealed as an inauthentic and misleading representation.

Design Drive-Thru has a nice little piece on Peter Saville's long and productive relationship with New Order (formerly Joy Division), alongside examples of his work. It's interesting to see the influence of Bauhaus on some of the designs, from the use of typography to the modernist sensibility of functional minimalism. You can find a comprehensive gallery of - as far as I can tell - all of his musical design work at Japanese fan-site Sleeve Designed by Peter Saville, which also includes a few shocking revelations (Did you know that Saville designed the cover art for Wham!'s Wake Me Up Before You Go Go? I certainly didn't!)

But for those who would like to make their own attempt at a Peter Saville masterpiece, his official website offers a nice place to start. In addition to interviews, and a summary of some of his best work, there is a true-type font gallery of the typography used in some of his most recognizable designs - and it's completely free to download for Windows users. You can find his official website by clicking here.